27 replies to this topic

[starlight]

Tools:
10mm spanner or socket
Pozi-drive stubby screwdriver
Some masking or insulating tape

How do I know if I need to change it?
With the ignition off, press the secret button and listen out for the click of a relay somewhere round the front of the car. If you can't hear a click, either its too noisy around you or the back up battery is flat. As it is unlikely anyone will of bothered to have changed it before, and as most cars are at least 6+ years old...

Where is it?
Open the boot, and look above the nearside wheelarch and you should see a black plastic box. Underneath that is a battery...



How do I change the battery
Undo the three pozi-drive screws retaining the plastic cover - one on top of the box facing you as you look, and two that go into the wheel arch. Be careful to catch the screws and washers before they roll beneath the boot carpet. Remove the cover to show the battery and mounting...



Undo the terminal connections, one at a time, and temporarily cover the loose terminal with the tape to save accidently shorting out anything (with the ignition off, these wires should be dead) and note one has a red band on it denoting + . Using the 10mm spanner/socket, undo the two nuts that retain the battery clamp...



Withdraw the battery.



I was pretty surprised at the size of the battery, a 12V 30A/hr gel battery. It is a bike battery, and can be obtained from Halfords or ebay at prices from around £15. Follow the instructions that come with the new one for refilling with the battery acid. This is the spec of the battery...



Refitting is a simple reversal of removal, taking care to refit the correct terminals to the correct wires.

[Wolfstone]

My back up battery for the secret button has been dead for ages. This is now on my to-do list for the weekend.

[Ouchie]

Nice work and good clear guide :: Is the battery clamp showing signs of leakage or is it the way the picture looks in low res on my phone?

[starlight]

Yes, there was a small sign of battery leakage, but after 8 years, I thought it could of been a lot worse, especially as the battery is kept on it's side. But having said that, the battery is a sealed unit once the acid has been added, as it all soaks into some fibre matting, and they are able to be be mounted in any direction...

[beefmaster9000]

where is the secret button? and more importantly what does it do?

[Wolfstone]

where is the secret button? and more importantly what does it do?

Somewhere secret and does something secret.

[Zoobeef]

where is the secret button? and more importantly what does it do?

I'll help you

Its where the rear number plates are. It connects the above battery to the alarm circuit so if your main battery is dead you can unlock the doors with the fob.


Once you fit a new one, prob be worth checking it with a multimeter perioically to make sure its not getting drained by anything as nothing should be using it. And its not getting charged.

Also may be an idea to charge it every 6 months or so

[starlight]

Once you fit a new one, prob be worth checking it with a multimeter perioically to make sure its not getting drained by anything as nothing should be using it. And its not getting charged.

Also may be an idea to charge it every 6 months or so

You shouldn't have to charge it, as it is connected to a constant supply (30 in the diagram) via a 20A fuse

Wiring Diagram

Although if you let your main battery go flat, this battery will probably also fail

[Zoobeef]

Well that is just plain stupid?!? You want it as a seperate system

[Graeme Lambert]

My back up battery for the secret button is dead. This is now on my to-do list.

Cheers for the info and pics

G

[Mangham54]

Well that is just plain stupid?!? You want it as a seperate system

Unless is it wired up so as to only recieve charge, but not relinquish charge unless the connection is made with the magic button. To be perfectly honest I don't know why this is such a secretive subject... if it actually unlocked the doors without the use of a key then I would understand. But as an emergency battery back-up what is the point of such secrecy?

I am a NA owner so what do I know?

[elwill]

Well that is just plain stupid?!? You want it as a seperate system

Unless is it wired up so as to only recieve charge, but not relinquish charge unless the connection is made with the magic button. To be perfectly honest I don't know why this is such a secretive subject... if it actually unlocked the doors without the use of a key then I would understand. But as an emergency battery back-up what is the point of such secrecy?

I am a NA owner so what do I know?

Just to revisit this, my backup battery is dead dead dead, apparently has been for years. Thought I'd change it this weekend, but struggling to find details of a replacement. Hoping to get one through Halfrauds as I have a few of those £10 off vouchers they were giving out last month.

Anyone got any more specs on the battery or even better a linky?

[techieboy]

Anyone got any more specs on the battery or even better a linky?

Well, that was a real struggle. I looked at the picture of the battery above and went to the Halfords website as suggested and whaddya know? Battery

[elwill]

Anyone got any more specs on the battery or even better a linky?

Well, that was a real struggle. I looked at the picture of the battery above and went to the Halfords website as suggested and whaddya know? Battery

Yeah, tried searching for all the YT4l and name etc etc and got nothing. Tried your link and first time it crashed the browser, and second time it said page could not be found.

I'm thinking intermittent website/crappy computer. Will try later on mine.

Thanks for the link.

[Ric218]

Anyone got any more specs on the battery or even better a linky?

Well, that was a real struggle. I looked at the picture of the battery above and went to the Halfords website as suggested and whaddya know? Battery

Yeah, tried searching for all the YT4l and name etc etc and got nothing. Tried your link and first time it crashed the browser, and second time it said page could not be found.

I'm thinking intermittent website/crappy computer. Will try later on mine.

Thanks for the link.

Link worked for me, here is some of the info if you cant access it:

Bosch Motorcycle Battery 3AS (YT4L-BS) Cat code: 965343-0chinky chinky

[elwill]

Managed to get to it. Must have been the ancient comp I was working on.

[moneyhunster]

Can i fit a higher capacity battery in there?

[starlight]

Can i fit a higher capacity battery in there?

Why?

[moneyhunster]

just wondered

[starlight]

Suppose so then... The Europa goes so far as to have the main batterynear there in the boot...